The present invention and these types of hats in general are designed for protecting the wearer's head and ears from the elements in extremely cold weather and further providing a functional hat that is comfortable to wear during non-extreme weather. Hats of this type have been known generally with ear flaps or with a single piece of material that is designed to wrap around the wearer's head and cover both ears at the same time. Such hats typically include a device that will hold the hat to the wearer's head in certain weather conditions, such as wind. This fixation usually takes the form of a strap that is designed to be secured under the wearer's chin so that it will keep the hat in place on the wearer's head. The problem with this type of chin-strap is that it can be uncomfortable and may cause irritation of the wearer's neck.
An early hat of this type was presented by Estella P. Marder and William N. Green in U.S. Pat. No. 2,417,986. This hat consisted of a crown and a flap made up of fabric that is stitched to the crown which is designed to cover the back of the wearer's head and neck as well as the wearer's ears to fully enclose the wearer's hair. This flap cannot be folded up and worn in an up position. This hat has one functional position in which it can be worn and that is with the flap down and covering the crown, the back and the ears of the wearer's head. This cap does have the advantage of tightening to the wearer's head in the back instead of under the wearer's chin, but the wearer does not have the ability to tighten this cap under their chin if they so desire.
Another hat of this type was presented by Ron Gregg in U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,782. This hat consisted of a crown, a neck flap connected to two ear flaps, and a visor. The neck flap and ear flaps are all contained in one piece of material that is connected to the crown of the hat and can be folded up and fastened to the crown of the hat to be worn in the up position during good weather. The ear flaps are connected to the crown of the hat using hook and pile fasteners attached to both the crown and each ear flap. The hat also includes a drawstring which can be used to gather the neck flap and ear flaps into a snug engagement with the wearer's neck. The hat as presented also includes a separate removable chinstrap which can be affixed to the earflaps of the hat to hold it tightly to the wearer's head during inclimate weather and wind. This hat requires three separate and distinct securing devices in order for the wearer to have the flexibility to wear the hat in all weather conditions: a drawstring is used to tighten the hat to the back of the wearer's neck, a detachable chinstrap is used to tighten the hat under the wearer's chin to hold the hat on during wind, and hook and pile fasteners are used to hold the ear flaps and neck flap in an up position.
What is needed is a hat that is suitable to be worn in all types of weather conditions, but that does not require numerous devices and attachments in order to achieve this versatility. Further, a hat of this type is needed which includes ear flaps that can be positioned either up or down and can be tightened in either position by a single device.